This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Humor and Holiness: A Call To Influence with Clean Comedy
written by Amy Brooks (Founder of Prayer Wine Chocolate and Catholics Online, LLC)
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”
Psalm 95:8 and Hebrews 3
About a month ago, a common theme grabbed my attention.
The theme? Laughter, Comedy and The Holy Calling of Comedy.
More specifically, the power of laughter and how making another person laugh can be an act of love and holiness.
Because of the nature of the time we live in and our current, dare I say “cancel culture”, I feel the need to warn you before you read further. There is an extremely high likelihood that I will mention a show you don’t like, a person you are not a fan of or that you often don’t agree with. I ask you to look past that. We seem to all be critics. I believe God is calling us to use humor more often.
The topic of God and Laughter
It all started during an episode of The Chosen where Jesus and Apostles were mourning the death of John the Baptist by observing the Jewish Shiva.
In an unexpected moment Jesus and Andrew found humor in extremely stale food and started giggling.
Almost immediately Andrew asks Jesus:
“should we be laughing at a time like this?”
The response written for Jesus in the script immediately made me think of this Scripture verse:
‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”
In fact I believe one of Jesus’s lines in response to that question talked about how it is at funerals where our hearts are the most soft. He continued by saying something on the lines that laughter and grief often come together.
Within days after I watched that episode of the Chosen, I was scrolling YouTube and a I encountered a surprising interview . . .
A Clinical Psychologist and a Comedian Walk Into a Bar . . .
Dr. Jordan Peterson (clinical psychologist, author and podcast host) was interviewing Roseann Barr – it was the title of the interview that paused my scroll:
(later I saw a different title: The Loudest Woman in Comedy)
Out of curiosity I hit play; not because I love Roseann Barr but more because I am so interested in humor and comedy.
Not very far into the discussion Roseann defined comedy as a “holy calling”.
Funny, I wasn’t expecting that.
She shared that often when she would socialize and spend time with other comics they would all somehow share this mutual sentiment that being a comic is “a holy thing”.
She said, “it is a holy calling”.
What fascinated me about this conversation was one – I noticed that this theme had already crossed my radar this week but two, the psychologist views that Jordan Peterson shared in response.
Both Jordan Peterson and Roseanne Barr talked about how humor bonds people together.
At one point Peterson said that “it transmutes suffering into joy”
Then Roseanne shared a touching story.
She shared how she has become like a grandma to young comedians, and recently she was called into a comedy club to listen and meet an young woman that has a physical disability do stand-up.
After Roseanne observed this woman’s comedic genius she spoke with her and said:
People love you and the reason why people love you is because:
” you embody the essence of comedy; you are able to reach down into a pool of pain and bring out beauty and joy”.
What Psychology Can Not Yet Explain About Laughter and Humor
There were a few times Dr. Jordan Peterson said a phrase like, “I have yet to figure this out” in regards to human laughter and humor.
Peterson spoke about how he finds it so interesting that a baby will show a sense of humor before he or she understands language. He also mentioned how he and his buddies would try to make each other laugh in the middle of a bench press.
This bench press conversation took me right back to that verse again:
“if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Peterson described how when a person laughs, they lose their muscle, their ability to hold up the weights.
If we look at the heart as a muscle, it seems natural to say, our walls come down when we laugh. That stone around the heart melts away. The hardness, if only for a second, completely disappears.
If this topic interests you, I highly recommend listening to the whole interview: The LOUDEST Woman in Comedy. Peterson takes a few times to discuss how interesting humor and laughter in the human person is; pointing out that people learn humor before they learn language. He also mentions how comedians catch people before their “filters” are up – and again – that reminds me of “walls” and hard hearts. Truly an interesting discussion.
Could Being a Comedian Be a Holy Calling?
A few days later, I see this on my social media feed:
“Pope Francis meets with Comedians”
Pope Francis gave an in-person message to comedians that once again reminded me of:
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”
My personal understanding of Pope Francis’ message was this:
Comedians have the ability to soften hearts.
With that Scripture and thought in mind, it makes sense for the Pope to bring that skill or even super-power to to the attention of comedians.
Forgive the cliché but, with great power comes great responsibility.
If people are in front of you with soft hearts, be very aware of what you are putting inside those hearts.
What did the Pope say to the comedians? Here a some quotes I pulled from different articles:
“When you draw knowing smiles from lips of even one spectator, you also make God smile”
“Humor does not offend, humiliate or put people down according to their flaws”
Speaking directly to the group of over 100 professional comedians, the Pope made the following statements:
You unite people, because laughter is contagious.
You denounce abuses of power
You give voices to forgotten situations
You highlight abuses
You point out inappropriate behavior.
Humor is “never against anyone, but it always inclusive, purposeful, eliciting openness, sympathy, empathy”
Pope Francis also mentioned a short prayer to the comedians that he himself has prayed. That prayer is this:
“Grant me, O Lord, a good sense of humor”,
I feel like there is a divine message in all of this.
My opinion, if you want to bring hearts closer to Christ, be more of a comic and less of a critic.
There are so many people on my feed wagging their virtual fingers and it is bringing me down.
As Catholic influencers, digital missionaries and simply a Catholic online, we have the power to bring unity and the power to cause more division.
Let’s choose the former and less of the latter.
Catholic Influencers, please choose comedy and humor over constant critique
As the owner of Catholic influencers, I can’t help but share my opinion on why, all of these conversations crossed my radar within a short amount of time.
I am also a consumer. As a consumer, I am so sick of hearing (or reading) some prominent Catholics wag their fingers about what feels like something new every single day.
It’s exhausting.
We find what we are looking for. Can we please look for some good once in a while?
And I am not saying we don’t point out evil, but as stated Peterson and Barr, and Pope Francis, you can point out abuse and wrongful acts with humor.
Catholic Comics and Influencers who Embrace Holy Humor
Long before I heard the dates of the National Eucharistic Congress, I planned on going to see Kathleen Madigan with my mom in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kathleen Madigan is Catholic and I do enjoy her comedy. A few years ago my husband and I went to see her show, and we were introduced to Keith Alberstadt. Keith and his wife Leslie are faithful Catholics and he is really funny. Recently he opened for Nate Bargatze, another great comedian rising in fame. Keith and Leslie have three children, one who has Down Syndrome. You often see him post with the hashtag #theluckyfew.
Jen Fulwiler, a convert to Catholicism and author of several books including Something Other Than God and One Beautiful Dream (sooo funny!) has also taken the path to stand-up comedy.
At a recent networking event sponsored by Catholics Online, I recently met Ashley Strand , Co-founder of Holy Smoke Comedy. This Catholic organization seeks to spread joy and unite communities. Their website declares,
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Bring us to your charity or parish event or even a fancy home party for a uniquely Catholic experience.”
On my blog and social media channels (Prayer Wine Chocolate) I often attempt to embrace humor. Once in a while I am successful. Sam Mead is another member of our community that does this well. Heather Lebano writes her thoughts on House of Love and Laughter and often shares how healing humor can be.
If you are a fan of a funny and faithful Catholic, please tell us about him or her below in the comments!
Concluding thoughts
Within the same week, the most popular show about Jesus and the Apostles currently on air, one of the most prominent Clinical Psychologists in North America and Pope Francis were all publicly online or in the media discussing how laughter and finding humor can be incredibly healing, powerful, holy and unifying.
Isn’t that funny?
Want to be listed on our directory and join our supportive community of Catholic influencers, digital missionaries and businesses based on evangelization? Yes, sign me up!
Please support our community! Shop here!
I came here to read the blog and am so happy to see the topic.. and even more honored to have been mentioned with Keith! Thanks for your support and for all you do to promote Catholic media and businesses. This was an awesome read. Keep up the GOOD work!
Thank you Amy ! I aspire on a daily to help people smile and maybe even laugh out loud and often felt it was my responsibility ( or dare I say “calling “ ) to do so and never had any solid reason other than the simple act of sharing joy. The world we live in is so heavy, hectic and dare I say miserable at times that if I can get someone else to smile or even better laugh ( out loud) then I’m always convinced that even just for a moment that everything will be alright! You’re definitely onto something here, thank goodness !
I met Ashley through your group, Amy, so thank you for that! She and I are now working together to help make my talk next month funnier! I’ve heard it said that if they’re laughing, they’re learning.
I’m learning that to be funny is to be vulnerable, which connects us deeply with our audience.
No coincidence your article came out when Bob Newhart (a Catholic, I think) had just died. There was never anyone funnier than he — and his humor centered on his own human frailty and vulnerability. What a contrast from the “humor of destruction” and mocking that’s so pervasive now.
May God give us real humor so we can laugh at ourselves as we glorify Him! Great article.